How to Fix BE469NX When It Makes Grinding Noises

Schlage is being dragged into 2015’s market for the residential networked electronic lock. August, Kwikset, Yale, and even Samsung all have viable entries in this market so no doubt there was pressure on Schlage to innovate. Schlage’s update to the BE365 is the BE469NX. The BE469NX has a few advantages and a few disadvantages when compared to its predecessor. The BE468/BE469NX has a motor or servo in it making it vastly more complicated than its old clutched forerunner. I am dubious about how long these motors are going to last and am leery of warranting these locks.

The problems described here assume the door is open. If you are having problems only when the door is closed the strike is probably installed wrong. This was not such a problem with the BE365 because you could easily push or pull the door to account for minor strike misplacement. If you want to remotely lock your door with the BE469NX though you have to have the strike aligned perfectly. The strike must remain aligned perfectly even after changes in humidity when the door might expand.

It is important to follow the steps in the instructions very closely, namely right after you install the batteries. If you try to use the thumbturn before the lock calibrates itself you are in for trouble. Sometimes even if you follow the steps correctly you are in for trouble. I recently installed one where the gears were not correctly aligned. I had to completely disassemble the lock and slowly spin the servo’s gear with my finger until the gears were properly aligned to allow free use of the thumbturn. I could have sent it back under warranty but that would waste my time and that of my customer’s. There was nothing wrong with the lock except the initial placement of the plastic gears.

Sometimes this problem can be corrected by resetting the lock’s software by disconnecting the battery and reconnecting it while holding your finger on the Schlage button. That was not the case in this instance, though I have successfully used this step before when this deadbolt was not extending its bolt the full 1″.

The only reasons to get the BE469NX are if you want to be able to remotely lock or unlock the door, remotely add and delete codes, or if you want to have a rudimentary alarm built into your lock. This lock is really amazing and inexpensive for somebody wanting to set up an AirBNB, especially if you set up the remote control with a free monitoring solution like Nest.

If you don’t need any of these options though, Schlage is also selling a really great electronic touchpad deadbolt that is not network-ready, and also has no keyway. This is great news for people paranoid of network security and physical break-ins because the hardest lock to pick is one that doesn’t have a keyway, and the hardest network device to remotely hack is one that is not on a network. This lock is actually bump-proof and pick-proof. Furthermore it is clutched and doesn’t use a motor. That means this lock will last a really long time, probably longer than the BE365 because there are no longer button holes for moisture to leak through. The best part about the BE375 is that it is far less expensive than the BE469NX. Arguably the other best part is that there is no servo/motor. It all depends on your criteria for a deadbolt in the end. It is a really great lock, no question.

No matter who you are, it is a great time to get an electronic deadbolt. They are now much easier to install with nothing more than a phillips screwdriver if your door is already pre-drilled. And if you hire someone else to install it, for the first time you can reprogram the lock yourself after the installer has installed it and left, locking out the locksmith. As long as the programming code is saved the lock can be reprogrammed infinitely, saving on the cost of a locksmith. They are also easier to rekey. I charge less to rekey the new Schlage electronic deadbolts because there are no longer ten screws to unscrew to get to the cylinder.

If you want to install one of these I charge $50 to set these up correctly if you buy it yourself, or if you buy it from me and the holes are already in the door I charge $15. If you buy one of these somewhere and live in North Seattle, I will charge:

$65 Service Call (within five miles of Green Lake)

$50 to install your electronic deadbolt (you provide deadbolt)

$19 to rekey to match your other Schlage locks if the lock has a keyway

$45 to drill holes if there are no holes or they are in the wrong places.

=$179 total, tax already included, plus the deadbolt. If you want to buy the deadbolt from me I guarantee it will work for three years. I will charge $15 instead of $50 to install it. Rekey is free if you buy it from me. There is no parts warranty if you did not buy the lock from me, but I will guarantee the installation is done flawlessly.